My attempt to get through Manhattan, live

From where I live, on the Upper (upper) West Side of Manhattan, getting to the park on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge would normally be trivial. Take the 2 or 3 express train down, go under the East River, get off at Clark Street in Brooklyn, walk a few blocks. But here’s the problem with doing that today: The line ends at 34th Street — about 70 blocks from my house, but still about 50 blocks and one river from Brooklyn.

My normal commute is from the bedroom to the living room, somewhat less difficult than, say, those trying to make their way in from Brooklyn. So in order to get a sense for what a commute might be like — or, really, what getting around the city at all is like — I decided to live-blog a trip to Brooklyn Bridge Park, using whatever transportation methods I can.

A note. My house never lost power or water. I don’t live in a devastated region like Breezy Point or Hoboken. This is a challenge in a hey-that-might-be-interesting sense, not an oh-god-now-what sense. Why is that important to note? Because a) guilt and b) I want to be very clear that I don’t consider my afternoon schlep downtown any sort of hardship. Hopefully, though, it will be informative — to you and to me.